Not-for-profit consultancy Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF) has secured funding from the Australian government to install three new community batteries in the Melbourne suburbs of Altona and Manor Lakes and the coastal town of Torquay in Victoria.
YEF has acquired the funding for the projects through the government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar programme. This programme, administered by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), aims to install 400 battery energy storage systems (BESS) nationwide to help support the energy transition and increase accessibility to solar PV-derived energy.
Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
The organisation will collaborate with Diamond Energy, an Australian electricity provider, to deploy the batteries. Diamond Energy will manage the batteries to maximise the value of the energy stored using its virtual power plant (VPP) control solution.
As part of the rollout, households in each of the three suburbs will be eligible for a special retail offer from Diamond Energy, details of which will be developed through the project. The batteries will be installed as front-of-the-meter (FTM) systems, directly connected to the local grid where nearby residential properties are also connected.
YEF becomes the latest organisation to receive funding via the Community Batteries for Household Solar programme. Indeed, earlier this week, Australian energy infrastructure company Jemena switched on two new 400kWh community batteries in Bellfield and Coburg in Victoria.
The not-for-profit organisation was an early mover for community batteries through its Fitzroy North BESS in Melbourne, which was installed in 2022, and has been an advocate for the technology since.
Earlier this year, the group said its Fitzroy North community battery generated AU$8,423 (US$5,272) in revenue, excluding goods and services tax (GST), for the 2023-24 financial year. YEF discussed its findings within a guest blog on Energy-Storage.news in February 2025.
According to Yarra, the community BESS’ revenue came mainly from energy arbitrage (AU$8,158) throughout the year, with a smaller portion coming from Citipower’s bidirectional community battery trial tariff (AU$1,046).
Australia’s community battery leadership void
During the Energy Storage Summit Australia 2025, Dr Emi Gui, energy transition programme lead at Monash Energy Institute, a community energy research group at Monash University, said that Australia currently lacks a leader in the community battery space who can spearhead its development.
“There is a void in the marketplace for some entity to drive Australia’s community batteries forward,” said the academic at Monash University.
Dr Gui explained that there is an opportunity in the market for an organisation willing to combine innovative approaches in community battery business models with active engagement from the communities themselves, tailoring the service to meet their specific needs.
“How scalable community batteries will be depends on the market innovation or the stakeholder innovation. In terms of supporting the environment for the battery, it comes down to cost and convenience for consumers,” Dr Gui added.
